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Jim Quinn, CEO of Kiwi Rail since 2009, is to leave Kiwi Rail before February next year.

I beleive that overall, in balanced way, Rail history in New Zealand will eventually look relatively kindly on what Jim as leader has acheived in his four years at Rails helm. It is not a easy role in New Zealand as many will know.

The press release from Kiwi Rail Is below:

Change to KiwiRail Chief Executive

7 June 2013

The Chairman of KiwiRail, Mr John Spencer, and the Board have announced they will not be renewing KiwiRail Chief Executive (CE), Mr Jim Quinn’s, five year contract when it expires in February 2014.

“With the KiwiRail turnaround plan well initiated the KiwiRail Board feel it is time for a new CE to implement the next steps in driving the plan. This includes re-challenging the bottom line financial performance of the business as we continue to deal with a number of difficult economic factors,” said Mr Spencer.

The board and Mr Quinn want to ensure a smooth transition so that we don’t lose our momentum.“We will conduct a thorough search for a suitably qualified replacement,” said Mr Spencer.

“This was a difficult decision and we appreciate Jim’s willingness to conduct this handover to help ensure as seamless a transition as possible.”Mr Quinn has been KiwiRail’s Chief Executive for over four years and has led a fast and wide-ranging reform of the business that included the development and implementation of a 10-year plan with the overall objective of establishing a sustainable, strong, national rail business.

“Under his leadership the freight business has grown by $100 million, with around $1.4 billion of capital investment on network improvements, new rolling stock and ferry infrastructure. In addition to this, around $1.3 billion has been invested in metro infrastructure improvements in Wellington and Auckland.

“This has been achieved while improving service performance and building stronger relationships with our key customers,” said Mr Spencer.“Mr Quinn’s contribution has provided a strong foundation for the future success of our business and his replacement now has the opportunity to more deeply focus on KiwiRail’s financial performance for the next seven years of the strategic plan’s implementation.”